Question

Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slaves, was a farmer, astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, and author. In 1791 he wrote to Thomas Jefferson, framer of the Declaration of Independence and secretary of state to President George Washington.

Read the following excerpt from the letter and write an essay that analyzes how Banneker uses rhetorical strategies to argue against slavery.

Sir, suffer me to recall to your mind that time in which the arms and tyranny of the British Crown were exerted with every powerful effort in order to reduce you to a State of Servitude, look back I entreat you on the variety of dangers to which you were exposed; reflect on that time in which every human aid appeared unavailable, and in which even hope and fortitude wore the aspect of inability to the conflict and you cannot but be led to a serious and grateful
sense of your miraculous and providential preservation; you cannot but acknowledge that the present freedom and tranquility which you enjoy you have mercifully received and that it is the pecular blessing
of Heaven.
This sir, was a time in which you clearly saw into the injustice of a state of slavery and in which you had just apprehensions of the horrors of its condition, it was now, sir, that your abhorrence thereof was so excited, that you publickly held forth this true and valuable doctrine, which is worthy to be recorded and remembered in all succeeding ages. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Here, sir, was a time in which your tender feelings for yourselves had engaged you thus to declare, you were then impressed with proper ideas of the great valuation of liberty and the free possession of those blessings to which you were entitled by nature; but, sir, how pitiable is it to reflect that although you were so fully convinced of the benevolence of the Father of mankind and of his equal and impartial distribution of those rights and privileges which he had conferred upon them, that you should at the same time counteract his mercies in detaining by fraud and violence so numerous a part of my brethren under groaning captivity and cruel oppression, that you should at the same time be found guilty of that most criminal act which you professedly detested in others with respect to yourselves.
Sir, I suppose that your knowledge of the situation of my brethren is too extensive to need a recital here; neither shall I presume to prescribe methods by which they may be relieved, otherwise than by
recommending to you and all others to wean yourselves from those narrow prejudices which you have imbibed with respect to them and as Job2 proposed to his friends, "put your souls in their souls stead," thus shall your hearts be enlarged with kindness and benevolence towards them, and thus shall you need neither the direction of myself or others, in what manner to proceed herein.

Answer 1

He uses juxtaposition

Step-by-step explanation:

Banneker uses the Christianity to and contrast this to the actual actions that Jefferson has taken in respect to slavery. He also implies that Jefferson himself has been enslaved by the British government similar to the way the blacks were enslaved in America. He directly attacks Jefferson's view on slavery and charges him with hypocrisy and details how Jefferson has become "of servitude" to the British government.

The writer also appeals to the emotion of Jefferson by encouraging him to be pensive about the feelings of the slaves and he aligned them with the similar feelings he has as a servant of the British. Hopefully, Jefferson would sympathize with the lot and rethink about his views on slavery.

In conclusion, the author used juxtaposition of both Jefferson's and the slaves loss of freedom to drive the point along with an emphasis on Christianity to show the err of his ways.

Answer 2

Although this question asks for an essay, we cannot provide it here. However, we are able to provide some information that can guide your work.

In this passage, Benjamin Banneker presents an argument to Thomas Jefferson that defends the rights of slaves. He argues that the ideas that Jefferson stated in the Declaration of Independence are against those that defend slavery. He does so by using several rhetorical strategies, such as ethos, pathos and logos.

Banneker employs ethos, an appeal to authority, when he tells Jefferson that he belongs to the same type of people who are held in slavery. He refers to them as "my brethren," and shows that he knows their situation very well, making him someone worth listening to.

Banneker also employs pathos when he appeals to the emotions of Jefferson. He does so when encouraging Jefferson to think of the feelings that guided him to write the Declaration of Independence and to seek the independence of the colonies.

Finally, Banneker uses logos throughout the text as he points out the contradictions found in Jefferson's opinions. In particular, he contrasts Jefferson's defense of liberty with his position on the subject of slavery.